Three nights in Batchelor

Sunday10 th July

Very hot 34 degrees on arrival at Batchelor but a large park with lots of trees although didn't effect Allan's Foxtel. Every night at 5.45 pm food is put out for the birds & quite amazing how the different breeds knew which food was theirs.

Monday11 th
  We set off to the Litchfield National Park & first stop was the magnetic termite mounds. These were a much paler colour to the ones we had seen in their millions over the previous couple of weeks.

The photo is not of the magnetic ones but a larger type which seem to be prevalent to this area. There were a few people around here but from then on it became hard to find a park at the next stops. Many people took advantage of the waterfalls to swim in.

Very nice picnic tables on the way to the falls here so we had our coffee before moving The above photo was Buley Rockhole. We then drove to Florence Falls & took photos looking at the falls as a long walk down & masses of people.

Next stop was Wangi Falls & a very nice spot with lots of room to picnic. After taking photos of the falls we did a walk & ended up on a platform amongst the tree tops. Thankfully some seating to catc our breath as lots of steps but easy going down.

It was very hot returning to the car to collect our chairs & picnic lunch but found a shaded place & really enjoyed just sitting there relaxing.

The round trip was about 120 klm's & a most enjoyable day . Allan spent the next morning cleaning the car & caravan & later we walked to check out the "town" of Batchelor which was a General store pub & takeaway. We went to the pub for happy hour & decided to eat there as well. Our pizza was excellent & John & Sue enjoyed their meals too. Really enjoy being able to walk to have dinner out although a courtesy bus is great too. A very pleasant stay & once again good to be on a grass site. Love Allan& Bev.

Day 2 & 3 in Katherine.

 John suggested a trip out to Cutta Cutta Caves so we set off on the 30 klm drive. Unfortunately by the we'd queued behind a large group we got told to wait until the next tour which was over two hours away! Not impressed as no mention on any blogs that this could happen so back in the car to Katherine. We had a nice coffee & decided we were happy not to have shared the cave experience with many small children. It was a very warm day so had a quiet afternoon.
  The next morning we got up & had a swim in the hot springs around 8.15 am & were quite surprised at the number of others with the same idea. We were lucky & had a pool all to ourselves & was quite enjoyable.

                                                                   

We drove into town later for fuel & it was so busy at the Caltex station with caravans & motorhomes queued out on the road . We looked at some markets but very dusty underfoot & not much on offer. The mall was very busy & Woolies was a nightmare so it was a quick shop. A superb day & 34 degrees so very pleasant sitting outside for happy hour. A very nice looking caravan called " Hollywood" attracted our attention but the vehicle to pull it with had every man green with envy. It was a F 250 ( think) but all new & shiny with a throaty roar but the back passenger side door had a nasty ding which rather spoilt the " look" . I loved the fabulous red towels hung on the line which went so well with the flashy image of the whole rig. Everyday we see hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of motorhomes & caravans on the road & must be a multi million dollar industry. Every caravan park has been packed & is the same going over to Broome & Perth & no doubt Qld as well. 

Tomorrow we move on to Batchelor for three night. Love Bev& Allan.

Katherine

6th July

We got away early & better scenery with more trees & even saw some beef stock. We couldn't get in the park until 11 am as the sprinklers were going on the Grass!!
 A very nice park with around 36 sites & we have a concrete pad & my clothes line is on lawn! Caught up on chores & then drove to the info centre where we booked a gorge tour & did a shop at the very busy Woolies. It made a nice change to have happy hour outside on a very warm night on concrete instead of dust.
  The next morning Allan & I drove the 30 klm's out to the gorge & then walked to get on the boat. John & Sue did this tour before Xmas as part of their Ghan trip. We heard all sorts of screeching & looked up to find flying foxes or bats above us.

    We boarded the boat & set off on a wonderful 2 hour exploration of two of the gorges . There are about 13 all told & many people do walks in this area some of which are 4-5 days!

There was a guy fishing & many others in kayaks enjoying this place. We had to get off the boat at the end of the first gorge & walk about 500 m past some rock art .

It was very nice & easy to walk as well to our waiting boat. Unfortunately a little boy decided he didn't want to board & his poor parents were so embarressed as he vented his feelings. It did make trying to hear our captain rather difficult & several around us thought the child should be left behind or given a good smack! However he did settle down & we got to enjoy things again. Some people were having a swim & a huge black bird swooped into their unattended kayak & started eating their food!

The second gorge was even better & we heard many interesting facts about how it all came about. We did see a freshwater crocodile but unfortunately the phone died so we missed out. A new camera & phone are on the list for Darwin.

We arrived back & went into the excellent building which had a restaurant, gift shop & sat on a great deck to have a coffee. The entire morning was run very efficiently & lots of tours happening every hour. In the wet season the water comes up another 8 m & where we walked between the boats is well underwater. They then use a power boat for the tours which goes over the top of these areas.

We finished the day will dinner at the Country club where everyone was impressed with their meal & a very pleasant evening. Love Bev & Allan.

Mataranka

July 4 th.

Few problems with the last blog & lost the end at Dayly Waters. We were eating our dinner & listening to the music when they made an announcement that a caravan was on fire. We all stayed put but there was a lot that ran to check! The couple who had been sitting at the next table were the unfortunate ones. The lady was cooking toast & the toaster went up in flames & the microwave so they couldn't sleep in the van. Not good.

The next morning there was a mass exodus with the huge number of campers hitting the highway & we really were in a convoy that morning. We arrived at the Mataranka Homestead early & again a busy place. Nice large sites but very dusty although later in the day they put water on the roads in the park which helped. I did lots of washing as we had both power & water , intermittent phone & still no Foxtel. Allan had called Foxtel & their response was a text to say they were sending a technician to Julliby! Allan managed to cancel that as it was the box we had with us that had the problem & the one at home was fine.
We went for a walk later to the Hot Springs but quite crowded so decided not to venture in. We carried on looking for Stevie's Hole thru a large lot of palms but the lost the shade & it was really hot . We finally arrived but this was rather off putting.

It was a swimming spot but crocodiles have now taking a liking to it& didn't want to share with them.  
The temperature was in the early 30's & heaven after our cold month. The next morning we did go in the pool & it was very nice & a beautiful stating amongst the palms.

We drove into Mataranka on Tuesday morning as we needed a top up of fuel & they have tried to make the tiny township interesting but the local pub was revolting & no way would you set foot in there. A quiet afternoon in the sun & then happy hour at the Homestead which was most enjoyable. Beautiful spot to sit & listen to music & the food looked fine but we had our own much later.

It was a pleasant two night stay but certainly couldn't spend 9 weeks there like our next 

door neighbours. The water isn't great & our electric jug became very furry after two days! Love Bev& Allan.

Part Two

1 st July.
   Cool morning as we headed to Tennant Creek for fuel & coffee on our way to Threeways roadhouse. Coffee was fine but not much else to see & do & newsagents & chemist shared the same shop! We joined the queue to get into the park as everyone arrives early to get a site with power & water. The afternoon was warm & sunny & we sat in the red dust to enjoy it.

John & Sue warned us about the next stop being very rundown when they were there 6 years ago. We set off for Elliott on Saturday 2 nd July & the usual boring scenery with no stock & not even roadkill although there were hundreds of termite mounds everywhere. The roadhouse at Elliott had not changed although has potential to be quite nice. The loos were clean & no frogs which Sue encountered last time. The sign on the back of the ladies said it all." Please keep door shut to keep out snakes"! A few other campers arrived & we had a dozen peacocks & a blue heeler for company too. It was quite hot so enjoyed the sunshine.

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During these stops we were without phone,Internet & Foxtel as to Allan's dismay the box seemed to have a problem so he missed out on the weekend sport!
Sun 3 rd July.
   We set off in beautiful sunshine & 21 degrees for the 160 klm's to Daly Waters.we queued to book in & then waited at the gate to be given our allotted site & no choosing here. Packed in quite close as a very popular place. We were allowed to fill our tanks with water & then had to use that as not enough pressure to hook everyone up. Loved to death these places are! Very unique & interesting

The pub featured in the movie " Last Cab to Darwin" & was quite different with excellent staff. We had a light lunch there & came back for Happy hour & dinner. John & Sue had the Beef & Barra as did most people & interesting to be close enough to see the staff cope really well with the 100+ meals. 

The country & western singer arrived to entertain & the we certainly had the feel of being outback & very different experience for us. All good. Love Allan & Bev.

A week on the road outback!

Tuesday 29 th June.
We set off for Alice on a cold morning with a min temp of 1 degree! Fine & sunny so did manage to warm up as the day went on. I suggested a rest stop for our picnic coffee but Allan said a roadhouse a little further on with a photo opportunity. The locals were not proud & had tipped rubbish everywhere & it was not the place to stay for long at all but did get the photo!

  We did see three camels there too! We drove on to Ti Tree where the camping ground behind the roadhouse was quite nice with grass & concrete pads & it felt very secure with an electric gate across all the time. Quite a party night between the locals at the roadhouse & some off roaders who stayed in the park. We had a visit from this peacock while having our happy hour.

  30 th June Wednesday.
  A chilly 9 degrees on leaving for our 200 klm trip & stopped at a truck stop for our coffee as couldn't find a rest stop. John had arrived first to Wauchope & only one powered site left but big enough to share with us although a tight squeeze for everyone in the park behind the roadhouse. Allan couldn't get Foxtel which was a first so no TV,phone or water so had to use our tanks. As we were only a short distance away we took a drive to Devil's Marbles. These were amazing & very warm walking around looking at all the different formations.

 

It got to 27 so finally into warmer weather. The roadhouse had a really nice beer garden with a pool so we walked over for a drink there for our happy hour. Such a change to see a garden in the outback.

Still a few days behind with the blog but more tomorrow. Love Bev & Allan.

Back of Beyond!

Sorry as over a week since we left Alice but very little phone,Internet,TV & no Foxtel since last Thursday so really out of touch.
As John blogged last week we had a very nice drive to simpson's Gap on Monday 28 th June.

 We went on to Standley Gorge & paid our entry fee & swell worthwhile walk. I had a little dental problem & managed to get a cancellation appointment so we hurried home. The lady dentist was a relieving one & had been to Inlewood NZ in recent times doing that. As I was born there we got on quite well.

We did a another food shop & packed up ready to move on to Ti Tree next day.

Much cooler in Alice Springs during the day than we expected but should improve from now on. Love Bev & Allan.